At present, systems that connect surgical headrests to the operating table do not specifically allow for rigid connection of various brain retractor systems. Some self-retaining retractor systems are designed to be attached directly to standard three pin headrests with pressure clamps that, when used, gather draping material into the clamp and can therefore become dislodged or loosened. Other retractor systems attach to the operating table itself, but require relatively long horizontal rods to hold the frame in place. These horizontal connecting rods can interfere with the placement of image guidance hardware and can limit how close the retractor apparatus can be to the surgical wound. Other existing systems allow rigid attachment of image guidance connection hardware to traditional three pin headrest devices, but these attachments are relatively large, somewhat awkward to use, and in close proximity to the patient's head.